Homecoming couple's grape adventure

THE Coal River Valley is home to a newly established vineyard that’s quickly becoming a must visit destination for wine lovers and those seeking a farm-to-plate experience. 

Owners James and Karen Stewart opened Caledon Estate’s cellar door for the first time this summer, inviting visitors to experience wines grown on sought-after soil. 

The couple both grew up in Tasmania but spent 16 years living in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth before deciding they were ready to move home. 

It was during their time in Western Australia that their love for vineyards grew, igniting the idea to start their own vineyard. 

While Karen has more of the farming background and James works as a corporate lawyer, they both shared the dream to live and work on a vineyard. 

Upon moving back to Tasmania, it took the couple about two years to find the right site which turned out to be the 80ha greenfield site in Richmond. They immediately set about planting vines, establishing infrastructure and connecting to the South East Irrigation Scheme. 

In 2019 they planted their first vines and by 2022 they harvested their first crop, producing a reserve pinot noir and reserve chardonnay. 

“It took me about two weeks to realise that this was not something you can just do on your weekends,” Mr Stewart, who still works as a lawyer, said. 

They soon hired their vineyard manager Justin Folloso to ease the workload. Mr Stewart said the rocky terrain was one of the biggest hurdles they encountered when starting out. 

However, it was also part of what made the location so unique, and they were able to use the sandstone rocks excavated from the ground into building both their house and the cellar door (fittingly the name Caledon means “rocky hill”). 

Mr Stewart says the soil on the property is varied, ranging from shallow soil over sandstone to black, cracking dolerite-based soil. The different soil types offered both challenges and opportunities and they said they made sure to carefully match grape varieties to the soil. 

Their premium pinot noir grapes are planted in the black-cracking dolerite based soil which Mr Stewart said was highly sought after ground to plant pinot noir grapes. 

Mr Stewart said the vines have to work a lot harder to get their roots down, but it means the grapes are more intense and produce great wine. 

“When you plant a vineyard one of the things is you don’t get to do is taste the wine for four years, so you can be confident in the site, but it’s not for four years until you get the proven product, so it was really nice to finally get it and see that it’s produced the excellent quality wine we hoped it would,” he said. 

By 2023, the vineyard was able to produce a full range of wines from their harvest, including pinot gris, riesling, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, rosé, and two types of pinot noir. The couple are also excited to soon be bottling their first batch of cabernet sauvignon and have plans to release a sparkling wine in mid-2025. 

With 60 tonnes of grapes harvested annually, about 25 tonnes are made into bottled wine by their winemaker, Matt Wood, at Springvale on the East Coast near Swansea. 

“Over time I’d hope that we can build our market to make 100 per cent bottled wine,” Mr Stewart said. 

Looking ahead they have plans to expand their vineyard. 

Currently, they have 11ha under vine, with plans to grow that to around 30ha. 

“As demand increases, we will plant more vines and I’m just waiting to see what we need more of, but I’m thinking pinot gris will be our biggest expansion.” 

Mr Stewart credits much of their success to the supportive viticulture community in Tasmania. 

“Springvale was a great help,” he said. “They mentored us through developing and managing the vineyard and also developing a cellar door and how to operate it,” he said. 

“Everybody’s really helpful with their time and helping each other out to get things done.” 

During the few years before they bottled their first wine and before they opened the cellar door, the couple experimented with different techniques and equipment before finding what worked best for them. 

Today, the couple aim to be self sufficient and have everything they need to get the work done at the vineyard including investing in a grape harvester. 

Mr Stewart says during harvest time they test the grapes’ sugar and acid levels to determine the ideal time to harvest them. 

“It’s one of the reasons I got a harvester because we can just jump in the harvester and get it done if you know it’s ready rather than having to book in a labour hire crew to come in.” 

During harvesting season the grape varieties ripen at different times, keeping them constantly busy. 

“Our sparkling wine grapes are typically ready first, by end of March, early April, and we rely on a mix of hand-picking and mechanical harvesting, depending on the variety,” Mr Stewart said. 

He recognises that the Richmond area is increasingly becoming a sough- after destination for agriculture and viticulture and is proud Caledon Estate is a part of that community. 

“It’s really becoming a great place for tourists,” Mr Stewart said, adding that they’re just a short 25-minute drive from Hobart, making it perfect for day trippers. 

The road to the estate not only hosts vineyards but also a walnut farm, peonies, cherries, and even a truffle farm, which Mr Stewart says is a great “table-to-plate farming region” that highlights local produce. 

One of the Stewarts’ primary goals is to make Caledon Estate a destination in itself. They’ve created a space where visitors can enjoy wine tastings, a local cheese platter, relax and purchase bottles to take home. 

“What we’ve already found is that we’re more of a wine bar than a traditional wine-tasting experience,” Mr Stewart said. 

“It’s a place where people can come and spend a few hours, have a few glasses of wine, and take a couple of bottles home.” 

Looking ahead, they hope to expand their offerings by bringing in a chef to run a more expansive food and hosting events like weddings and other functions. 

Their commitment to creating a lasting legacy for their children—aged 12 and 13—is also at the heart of what they do.